The old saying “belt and suspenders approach” refers to redundancy or backup in a system and the safety factor that follows from it.
In attire, that means safety from the humiliation of one’s pants falling down should a system fail with no backup.
In construction, it means safety from things that will destroy your project, the #1 of which will always be bulk water intrusion.
I recorded this video on location of a project in which I participated in the design phase and am participating in the construction phase. I don’t know if I emphasize it enough, but here I have another opportunity: you only have a certain amount of time in a project to “get it right.” Once the site has been backfilled, you can no longer waterproof a wall or a seam that is buried. So, make hay while the sun is shining. Apply factors of redundancy that will allow you to sleep at night, and for the next 10,000 nights, before the opportunity has passed you by.
Oh, and two other things:
- In the final part of the video, I sound out of breath because I was out of breath. I was out of breath because I had spent a couple of hours about 13 feet in the air, straddling a 10 inch foundation wall and shimmying back and forth on it, obtaining precise measurements with my engineer. Then I came back to ground level and ran around with the caulking gun, sump pump, hose, ladder, and extension cord for what seemed like forever. It was a good workout. Then the job was done.
- I was wearing shorts in the video, but I didn’t have a belt on nor was I wearing suspenders at the time.
I’m sure the job site is a better visual than the picture in your mind right now.
Until next time,
Dr. Lee Newton
How A Doctor Learned To Develop Real Estate
- Learn the consequences of delegating your real estate and construction decisions to others
- See for yourself how a physician cracked the code to success and profitability in real estate development
